Producing high-quality parts that meet critical size specifications requires careful planning and production expertise in the investment casting process. After molten alloys are poured into molds they shrink as they cool. The dimensions of the finished castings will be smaller than the molds that form them. As a result, foundry professionals must take this shrinkage into account when designing the patterns. This can be quite complex because different alloys have different shrinkage allowances. In addition, any surface finishing can also affect the size, though this is minimal with investment casting.